Guardian
by Hybrid-Alchemist
Summary: Based on the opening scene of Ep. 25. Ryuzaki can feel death closing in on him and decides to go to the one and only person he considers to be family. A short and sweet little one-shot between L and Watari. Father/son love. Fluff. SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 25.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters mentioned in this story. They all belong to the genius' that are Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata._  
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Dawn broke over the magnificent urban landscape of Tokyo, engulfing the area with early morning light. The weather of which didn't look too promising that day with all the rain clouds moving towards the city. By the looks of things, they were in for a storm. The same gloomy atmosphere surrounded the police headquarters, where the few remaining Kira investigators resided. The Kira case had been the Task Force's top priority investigation for countless months and the investigators were steadily losing hope with each passing day. All except for one…Ryuzaki, otherwise known as the great detective L.

The young, scrawny detective was stood a top a balcony at HQ in his usual hunched-over position, watching as the sun slowly rose from beyond the horizon. He hadn't been able to sleep that night (not that he slept much anyway) as he had an undeniable feeling that today could very well be his last alive. He also believed that today he would find out once and for all whether Light was in fact Kira. He couldn't understand why he was feeling this way and why these melancholy thoughts were plaguing his mind, but he simply couldn't deny their presence. For once, his brilliant mind wasn't sure what to think.

Ryuzaki sighed sadly and looked down at his bare feet as he remembered all the fun times he, Light and Misa had shared over the past year. They were the closest he'd ever had to friends and probably the only ones he'd ever have. How he wished he didn't suspect them of being the first and second Kira. But the majority of the evidence pointed to them, all except for that one little rule in the Death Note, whereby the owner would die if he/she didn't write in the Death Note for 13 days. A rule that Ryuzaki figured was too good to be true.

"Well, today's the day, Light", Ryuzaki thought out loud, "Prove to me that you're not the murdering bastard we've been searching for. Prove to me that you're not Kira."

Ryuzaki looked up at the sky and was greeted by a few cold raindrops that had fallen from the heavens. He closed his eyes as more raindrops made contact with his incredibly pale skin. It was the most refreshing feeling he'd ever felt. A few minutes passed by and it was then that Ryuzaki soon became aware of the loud clanging of bells. He wasn't sure whether the sound was coming from a nearby church or if he was just imagining it. But wherever this noise was coming from, it sounded all too familiar to Ryuzaki.

That's when it hit him. He knew those bells. They were the bells from the Whammy House clock tower, the orphanage for gifted children where he had spent several years of his childhood. So why was he hearing them here in Japan when the Whammy house was thousands of miles away in England? When he thought about it he seemed to remember having this same strange experience a few times before in the past. Before he'd never really given it that much thought, passing it off as merely a figment of his imagination. But now, now he wasn't so sure.

All of a sudden, Ryuzaki began to see images of his past flash before his eyes, ones he'd rather forget, and it finally dawned on him what it all meant.

"I have to tell Watari," he stated boldly.

Moments later, the young detective was stood outside the observation room where Watari usually resided. Ryuzaki took a long, bony finger and pressed the buzzer to be let in. Seconds later, Watari's voice could be heard from the speaker next to the buzzer. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Watari," Ryuzaki said quietly. Immediately, the door opened and he stepped inside. There he saw Watari, the only man who really understood him, observing the many monitors in the small, dark room.

"What is it, Ryuzaki?" Watari questioned, eyes still fixed to the monitors.

Ryuzaki opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead, he simply moved closer to Watari.

With no reply, Watari spun around in his chair to face the young detective. He asked again, "Ryuzaki, what's wrong?"

It took almost a minute before Ryuzaki finally answered, "Watari…I don't know exactly how to tell you this, but…there is around a 95% chance that I could die today."

Watari's eyes grew wide unable to believe what he just heard. "Ryuzaki, don't say such things. You're too young for that kind of talk."

"That may be true," Ryuzaki sighed, looking away from Watari, "I've just turned 25, I should have my whole life ahead of me. But I know now…that's completely out of the question."

Tears started to build up in Watari's eyes as he saw the sad and frightened expression on the usually emotionless detective's face, and he was shaking all over. To Watari, he looked like that same shy, scared little boy he had met all those years ago.

"B-but…Ryuzaki," Watari stuttered, "What m-makes you so sure of this?"

Ryuzaki turned to the side and looked up at the ceiling. "I hear the bells, Watari."

"Bells?" Watari said, confused. "What bells?"

"The bells of the Whammy House clock tower. I hear them when someone I know is about to die. But in this case, it seems that someone…is me."

"But that's impossible! The Whammy House is in Winchester, England!"

"I know." Ryuzaki replied, taking a few steps forward so he was stood next to Watari. "That's what I don't quite understand. Besides, I've never really been one to believe in the whole 'Sixth Sense' thing. But right now, that's the only logical conclusion I can come up with."

Watari looked up at the young man, a deep look of sympathy on his face. He wanted nothing more than to comfort Ryuzaki, tell him that everything would be alright and that he would be there to protect the boy, just like he had in the old days. But he knew that it would be no use. When Ryuzaki was certain of something it was near impossible to make him think otherwise.

There was a brief moment of silence between them before Ryuzaki finally spoke up. "Watari…I'm scared."

"Ryuzaki…" Watari said softly, standing up from his chair and placing a hand on the young detective's shoulder.

Another moment of silence passed before Ryuzaki said shakily "Watari…what I really wanted to say was…thank you…for being the only father figure I've ever had. You've always been there for me since the very beginning. And…I'm so glad to have known you this long." At that last sentence, he turned to look at the older man with his large onyx eyes. Eyes that could strike fear into any other human being…but not Watari.

Watari couldn't hold it back any longer. He pulled Ryuzaki into a tight embrace that totally took the detective by surprise. But he soon relaxed into it and weakly returned it. Tears were streaming down Watari's face as he clung to the young detective, not wanting to let go, afraid that he would lose the only son he'd ever had.

Watari eventually spoke up, "You have no idea how much that means to me to hear you say that, Ryuzaki. Having no children of my own I always feared that I wasn't cracked up to be a father. But now…now you've convinced me otherwise. Thank you…my son."

Hearing the word 'son, Ryuzaki hugged Watari tighter and nuzzled into his chest, feeling safe and warm in his father's arms. Watari held him close in a protective manner.

"No matter what happens. I'll always be there for you, Lawliet…even in death."

And at that very moment, a single tear managed to break through the steel barriers in Ryuzaki's eyes and ran down his cheek.

"Father…" Ryuzaki smiled, knowing that he would never be alone.

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_Cute, huh? Hope you all enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed writing it! :D Nothing like a bit of L/Watari father-son love! :3 I don't write fanfics very often so when I do I try to make them decent. Hopefully this one qualifies. ^^ I'd greatly appreciate if you leave a review, as they inspire me to write more. Anyways, thanks for reading! ^^ See you all around!_


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